NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Chrissy Buck
throws to Claire Sua in a game earlier this
season. The Bruins shut out the UC Riverside Highlanders twice on
Wednesday. UCLA d. UC Riverside 12-0
UCLA d. UC Riverside 8-0
By Andrew Borders
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA softball team won two out of three contests Wednesday,
including the two that were played on the field.
The one they didn’t win was in the polls. Of the 27 first
place votes in the NFCA/USA Today poll, Arizona notched 21 to
UCLA’s six, knocking the Bruins from the top spot.
So for this week, UCLA softball fans will have to get used to
saying “No. 2 UCLA Bruins” instead of the more familiar
“No. 1.”
As for the games on the field, the UC Riverside Highlanders
(11-36-1) proved no match, with the Bruins (46-4) taking the
doubleheader 12-0 and 8-0. The wins gave the Bruins a perfect
nonconference record for this season.
Freshman Keira Goerl of neighboring Moreno Valley teamed with
senior Courtney Dale to throw a no-hitter in game one. Dale kept it
from being a perfect game by issuing a walk to freshman Karli
Burneleit.
The Bruin defense, maligned in recent weeks, kept the no-hitter
going, committing no errors while only four UCR batters were
retired at the plate.
Enquist lauded her team’s effort.
“For the most part, we played good defense,” she
said. “A midweek game is always different in terms of how
your team is going to perform. Knowing it was a nonconference game,
I was pleased that they came out and got it done and put up the
numbers.”
Freshman Claire Sua, sophomore Monique Mejia and Dale all had
three RBIs, but Sua provided the fireworks with a two-run home run
in what was a five-run inning for the Bruins. Goerl got the win,
her 18th, in the five-inning mercy rule-shortened affair.
In game two, Dale and fellow senior Stephanie Swenson split the
pitching duties. Dale threw two innings, allowing Riverside two
hits and two walks, while Swenson closed out the final three,
surrendering only one hit and one walk for her sixth win of the
year.
It was sophomore Natasha Watley’s turn to be the hot
hitter in game two, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, including a
triple.
The three hits for Riverside were split among three players, as
UCLA’s duo of senior pitchers kept the Highlanders’
bats cold.
Even though the Bruins gave their fellow UC opponents quite a
pounding, Sua says that the effects will help them this weekend
against No. 3 Stanford and No. 4 Cal.
“It gives us momentum for this weekend, because
we’re in a place right now where we need that kind of
momentum,” she said.